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Woz wants a Surface tablet

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak has never been shy about expressing his opinions on competitors' products and other topics of interest in the technology world. It's always been interesting that even if the competitor is directly competing against something Apple offers, Woz never holds back what he really thinks even if he likes the competing product.
 
Woz was on hand recently at the Entel Summit in Chile and offered up his thoughts on some emerging technology. Woz talked a bit about his opinion on Google Class and Microsoft Surface tablets
 
Considering Microsoft plans to directly compete against the iPad with its Surface tablets, it's interesting that Wozniak is looking forward to owning one of the Surface tablets himself. 
 
Woz said, "I do see a lot of stuff coming out from Microsoft in the consumer arena. A lot of people like to say that Microsoft’s had no successes in the last so many years, but the Xbox is a success, and certainly Kinect… I do want to see the Surface, I want to use one, I want to own one."
 
Wozniak also weighed in on the Megaupload legal drama, noting, "Kim Dotcom was so successful, and he was well known for his flagrance, and his sports cars, and his racing cars, and his style of life, that he was made an easy target…. He was the biggest in the world, and they swamped in on him."
 
The legal drama centering on Kim Dotcom and the other founders of the file sharing service Megaupload continues to drag on. The U.S. is trying to extradite Dotcom and other founders of Megaupload to stand trial and the men face as much as 20 years in prison if convicted on conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. Recently the extradition hearing in New Zealand was postponed from August of 2012 to March of 2013.
 
Dotcom and the other defendants are out on bail, after being denied bail earlier this year.

Source: Cult of Mac


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Good old Woz
By kleinma on 7/10/2012 10:36:29 AM , Rating: 5
This guys is really one of my favorite people in the tech world. A true pioneer, even if it took Jobs to push be the face of Apple, the reality is Apple would never have existed without Woz, while it could have existed (albeit very differently) without Jobs.

The guy is always sincere and just loves technology, doesn't care about money and patents. Just likes to see the technology move forward. I hope when his time does come, people reflect the same way they did for Jobs, since there are lots of iTards out there using Apple products who have no idea who he is.

If you were to ask a bunch of people who started Apple, they would tell you "Steve Jobs", just like if you ask people who started Microsoft they will tell you "Bill Gates". Woz and Allen rarely get credit where credit is due.




RE: Good old Woz
By Reclaimer77 on 7/10/2012 10:47:08 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
the reality is Apple would never have existed without Woz


Then shouldn't that make him one of your most HATED people in the tech world?


RE: Good old Woz
By amanojaku on 7/10/2012 11:02:21 AM , Rating: 2
Woz wasn't responsible for the nightmare Apple became. All of that was the fault of Jobs. In fact, there is a rumor that Woz is employee #1 because Jobs refused to take a number, establishing the idea that Woz worked FOR Jobs, not WITH him.


RE: Good old Woz
By kleinma on 7/10/2012 11:22:24 AM , Rating: 5
That isn't a rumor, it was outlined in the Jobs biography (which I suggest any Jobs loving person reads so they can see what a douche the guy was). It was also mentioned in the old pirates of silicon valley movie.

Woz was made employee #1 and Jobs was made employee #2. Jobs refused to be #2 and insisted on being employee #0. The payroll system they used could only handle positive integers, so you couldn't have an employee #0, so Jobs cried. Literally, he cried over that.

Then there were the cases where employees that were with Apple from the start (building Apple 1 computers in the garage with Woz and Jobs) who didn't get stock in the company when it got big because they were not in the rankings to receive stock. Woz gave away a lot of his to these people, and when Jobs was told that whatever Jobs donated of his stock would be matched to be given to some of these early on employees that helped get apple going, Jobs said "Ok, I will give them 0 shares".

Jobs may have been a tech visonary of sorts, but he was also a total loser. At least Gates will likely be remembered for giving away billions and billions to better the world. Jobs will be rememebered for shiny iToys of the first world.


RE: Good old Woz
By someguy123 on 7/10/2012 6:53:59 PM , Rating: 1
Jobs was indeed a terrible person. It's always odd that people gloss over the fact that Jobs caused the downfall of apple before its resurgence because of his "innovative" method of designing computers without proper cooling, and failing to capitalize on general school acceptance of the Mac. He was also mostly just a financier and spokesperson when it comes to apple's current dominance, which can be largely attributed to Tony Fadell and Paul Rand, as well as Apple's massive marketing team.

The real talent gets lost behind the face of a liar.


RE: Good old Woz
By MrBlastman on 7/10/2012 11:32:44 AM , Rating: 5
Exactly. To be fair about Woz, he left Apple in 1987. He helped start the original company and it was amazing what he managed to put together in the 70's that Jobs on his own would have never been able to figure out. Jobs used Woz and stabbed him in the back whenever he had a chance. He didn't care--Woz was a stepping stone to his megalomaniacal power he sought as I see it.


RE: Good old Woz
By theapparition on 7/10/2012 11:11:27 AM , Rating: 5
No,
Without Jobs we'd all be using Apple computers in the 80's and 90's, they'd be open and expandable.

Woz was a tech visionary, while Steve was a megalomaniac who wanted everything to revolve around him.


RE: Good old Woz
By retrospooty on 7/10/2012 11:13:53 AM , Rating: 2
"Woz was a tech visionary, while Steve was a megalomaniac who wanted everything to revolve around him."


Exactly.


RE: Good old Woz
By superstition on 7/10/2012 12:00:06 PM , Rating: 2
Jobs saved Apple from the doldrums of poor management, like it or not. Amelio and the people before him were incompetent in comparison. Jobs is the one who made Apple the powerhouse it is today.


RE: Good old Woz
By EnzoFX on 7/10/12, Rating: 0
RE: Good old Woz
By bupkus on 7/10/2012 2:44:42 PM , Rating: 1
I've heard that line before. Back in the 90's when I worked for a newspaper in Phoenix I told a fellow employee that nepotism was rampant there, "...everywhere you looked there's a son of a boss given a management position right out of training" to which she replied, "well you would do the same thing if you could." Jealously is a character flaw just as is greed.

The reason Jobs stands out and all this animosity thrives is because Jobs reeked of greed and bitterness and displayed this publicly. Maybe it was partly his sickness or having been an orphan.


RE: Good old Woz
By B3an on 7/10/2012 12:30:35 PM , Rating: 5
Jobs was fired from Apple in the 80's for basically being **** at his job, failing to make a profit, and making many bad decisions, like the issue of their computers overheating because Jobs wanted them to be more quiet. Which has always made me think he atleast got a little lucky on his second attempt at Apple.

Either way, most overrated guy ever.


RE: Good old Woz
By MrBlastman on 7/10/2012 12:46:35 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
like the issue of their computers overheating because Jobs wanted them to be more quiet.


This is a classical example of the Marketing department thinking they know everything about Engineering.

"Oh, it won't be a big deal, besides, the client said they want it to weigh five pounds less so if we put in a smaller transformer, it shouldn't matter, right? I mean, it doesn't need all that extra power anyways? Besides, if it breaks down that just means we'll get more repeat business and more sales!"

If Jobs were an Engineer, he'd of put bigger fans to lower the flow-through velocity, increasing cooling volume, lowering RPM and decreasing noise dramatically. But no, Jobs was always about looks and style over function. Functionality be darned! People don't need function, they just need to look like they are functioning--and looking great at it!


RE: Good old Woz
By AssBall on 7/10/2012 1:04:13 PM , Rating: 4
So true. Being an engineer for Apple must be the most depressing job in the world.

Engineer: I can make this more efficient!
Jobs: I don't care.
Engineer: I can make this faster!
Jobs: I don't care.
Engineer: I can make this more industry compliant.
Jobs: I don't care.
Artist: I can make this shiny and sexy.
Engineer: But it be able to do anything worthwhile!
Jobs: Do it.


RE: Good old Woz
By inperfectdarkness on 7/11/2012 6:33:22 AM , Rating: 2
i would so 6 this.


RE: Good old Woz
By superstition on 7/11/2012 1:26:06 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, exactly. The iPhone, iPod, iMac, iPad, OS X -- they're all engineering failures because of Jobs' inability to see the big picture.

Pixar was really a failure, too.

The Apple III's failure was due to a lot more than Jobs' influence. It should have been killed and not shipped, regardless of the case that overheated.


RE: Good old Woz
By superstition on 7/11/2012 1:23:26 PM , Rating: 2
Jobs' firing is questionable, but he was not the same immature manager when he returned — nor did Apple do particularly well after he left. In fact, Apple turned into a joke and nearly died. He also made Pixar a success and created the OS that saved the Mac platform.

Overrated as compared to who? The Great God of Business?


RE: Good old Woz
By NellyFromMA on 7/10/2012 2:12:16 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, but he exploited the American people (consumers) by buying devices at huge premiums while exploiting foreigners (manufacturers) to make them.

Economically speaking, yes, he is responsible for making Apple the 'success' it is today. He did this by, among other minor things, creating a monopsonistic environment in which it sits on influences and controls the vast majoirty of the supply chain demand and uses that clout to ensure its surpremacy at the cost of consumers of technology as a whole.

Now the latest components are in short supply because Apple uses it's clout to hoarde them all..

Economic power house, yes. Do I respect it. Absolutely not.

Not to take away from the quality of their products independant of price, as they are good (even maybe great in terms of ease-of-use, lack of bugs) but too costly and the ramifications of their business strategies extend a good part further than most realize...


RE: Good old Woz
By superstition on 7/11/2012 1:20:39 PM , Rating: 2
That's how American capitalism works. For-profit companies are not non-profits. They are not the government. If you don't like predatory capitalism, which all multinational companies engage in, then you had been find a way to lobby your government better than those companies/banks can.

Wikileaks exposed the fact that the US pressured Haiti in opposition to its paltry minimum wage increase and got a special exception for companies like Hanes and Levi Strauss. Apple isn't special for using Chinese manufacturing. And, Apple is not the only company to pursue higher margins and a more luxurious product line than much of the competition.


RE: Good old Woz
By someguy123 on 7/10/2012 7:22:21 PM , Rating: 2
They weren't "incompetent by comparison". Jobs left Apple in shambles after destroying Apple's image as the leader in business PCs with the Apple III. The ipod (and likely rampant music piracy) is what eventually helped bring Apple back.


RE: Good old Woz
By TakinYourPoints on 7/11/2012 3:06:45 AM , Rating: 2
You don't know your history. Apple in the years after Jobs left was more popular and profitable then ever for a solid decade. Things didn't fall apart until Apple failed to keep MacOS up to date with other operating systems out there. Jobs' Nextstep was far beyond anything else at the time (you have that OS to thank for the very first web browser, DOOM, and Quake), and by the time Windows 95 came out it was curtains.

The other thing is that Apple was acting like other PC companies at the time, too many product categories, too many ancillary products like printers, etc. The company by then was driven by marketers, much like MS and HP are, resulting in too many products and no focus. Jobs slashed the product portfolio from dozens of computers, PDAs, and printers, into just four computers (pro/consumer desktop/laptop). They immediately started making profit after trimming all that fat.

Throw in Nextstep becoming OS X, the iDevices, and the rest is history.


RE: Good old Woz
By superstition on 7/11/2012 1:17:08 PM , Rating: 2
I know the history extremely well. Apple treaded water for a while and acted like a brain-dead company that couldn't innovate. The ridiculous Performa line, with its Frankenstein's monster mixing of obsolete and incompatible equipment, endless names for the machines having a bit more RAM or hard disk space, and the company's inability to compete with MS Office despite having a head start of years (Lisa 7/7) — all of those things spell poor management. The attempts at innovation, like the Newton, were poorly executed.

Failing to the keep the Mac OS up-to-date isn't just something you can set off to the side as being a minor caveat. That was a critical mistake. The Lisa had protected memory in 1983. There is simply no excuse for the Mac OS not getting it.

Jobs is responsible for Nextstep, which replaced the Mac OS because it was actually innovative. Jobs is responsible for righting a sinking ship. Jobs is responsible for leading Apple to create the iMac, iPhone, iPad, and so on. The company went from near bankruptcy to beating Microsoft. History is clear.


RE: Good old Woz
By superstition on 7/11/2012 1:30:26 PM , Rating: 2
nevermind.. thought you were replying to my post


RE: Good old Woz
By TakinYourPoints on 7/12/2012 3:51:58 AM , Rating: 2
No problem, it's nice to see more context in an informed post. Its pretty rare among the ignorant fanboy/editor circlejerk around here


RE: Good old Woz
By TakinYourPoints on 7/11/2012 3:06:55 AM , Rating: 2
You don't know your history. Apple in the years after Jobs left was more popular and profitable then ever for a solid decade. Things didn't fall apart until Apple failed to keep MacOS up to date with other operating systems out there. Jobs' Nextstep was far beyond anything else at the time (you have that OS to thank for the very first web browser, DOOM, and Quake), and by the time Windows 95 came out it was curtains.

The other thing is that Apple was acting like other PC companies at the time, too many product categories, too many ancillary products like printers, etc. The company by then was driven by marketers, much like MS and HP are, resulting in too many products and no focus. Jobs slashed the product portfolio from dozens of computers, PDAs, and printers, into just four computers (pro/consumer desktop/laptop). They immediately started making profit after trimming all that fat.

Throw in Nextstep becoming OS X, the iDevices, and the rest is history.


RE: Good old Woz
By Proxes on 7/10/2012 1:45:27 PM , Rating: 2
Using that logic, then the guy that invented the microprocessor should be the most hated.


RE: Good old Woz
By Belard on 7/10/2012 11:34:12 AM , Rating: 2
Jay Miner - Atari 8 bit computers (400/600/800) and the Amiga (1985) - multimedia / multitasking system (than could run both Mac and PC emulation)


RE: Good old Woz
By Tony Swash on 7/10/12, Rating: -1
RE: Good old Woz
By mfergus on 7/10/2012 9:34:51 PM , Rating: 2
AKA I have no reply to all the Job character flaws. Yes everyone knows hes a genius businessman and runs a very efficient ship. He's still a douche and someone people shouldn't idolize.


RE: Good old Woz
By inperfectdarkness on 7/11/2012 6:38:50 AM , Rating: 2
the "hegemony" is what apple started out fighting--or do you forget apple's most famous advertisement?

apple has become that which it reviled, and purported to "save" consumers from.

i'll give jobs the benefit of the doubt though. i don't think he was as awful, unoriginal, or as much of a soulless bastard as bob nardelli.


By arthur449 on 7/10/2012 10:06:36 AM , Rating: 2
Second paragraph, second sentence: replace "Google Class" with "Google Glass".




By tayb on 7/10/2012 8:38:03 PM , Rating: 2
I can't believe this still hasn't been. That is embarrassing.


By Trisped on 7/11/2012 2:10:25 PM , Rating: 2
I thought that too, then I though maybe it was Google Class, so I looked it up. There is a Google Python Class and a Google C++ Class, though I doubt Woz would care about those.


blech
By p05esto on 7/11/2012 3:34:47 PM , Rating: 1
It's odd that I used to like Apple. Nowadays I feelt hey are the devil and everything that is wrong with modern computing and technology. All the closed standards, DRM, locked down systems you can't work on or upgrade, crappy iTunes software, overpriced and feature lacking hogwash.

There's not even a company or computing compay out there that I really like either. Microfot has been my favorite I guess, but Win8 so far blows chunks and I won't be getting behind that unless they fix it up.

Who knows. Maybe time to start seriously looking at Linux?




RE: blech
By augiem on 7/11/2012 8:46:35 PM , Rating: 2
Once you do seriously look at Linux, you will likely run screaming back to MS (Windows 7 at least). I seriously have a lot of new respect for MS's engineers after realizing just how much power they managed to pack into the GUI. NOBODY else out there does that. All GUI-based Unix/Linux derivatives that I've tried (more than few) make only a couple dozen system-level functions accessible through the GUI whereas MS makes hundreds if not thousands of functions available (well, everything actually). It's exponentially bigger. Sure, Mint w/Cinnamon may look all pretty, but the power is simply not there except through terminal. Same with OSX.

I've done my fair share of setting up servers and doing management through terminal over the years and I still think its really bad, slow, and requires you rely way too much on "man" or Google.


By Homerboy on 7/10/2012 1:05:11 PM , Rating: 1
but holy hell this is poorly written article.




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